USMNT: Watching From Outside The Arena

Titans Bastard

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That was so nasty from James. Any other player would have taken a small touch with the left before shooting that, but he just went for it and perfectly placed the curler.
 

Kliq

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Thought Steffen wasn't in the best position but that was a wonderful goal from James.
 

Titans Bastard

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I didn't think Steffen could have done anything about that, but I'll have to wait for one more replay to look again.
 

Titans Bastard

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Robinson has been defensively disastrous and Sarachan should sub him off at HT to preserve his confidence before he gets abused even more by these highly talented Colombian attackers.
 

Kliq

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US is barely hanging on, the level of skill on the Colombian attack is just so much more advanced than the US. I've liked what Robinson has done going forward but he's getting torched on defense.
 

lostjumper

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The last 20 minutes or so I was keyed in on Bradley. He is a complete waste of a spot at this point. He is simply too slow to be out there. On defense running back everyone runs by him. If the play isn't over by the time he gets on defense, he just stands at the top of the key. And when the US goes on the attack everyone runs past him and the attack is over by the time he crosses half field. The US are playing 10 vs 11 with Bradley on the field. He should never see the field in a US national game again.
 

Titans Bastard

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The last 20 minutes or so I was keyed in on Bradley. He is a complete waste of a spot at this point. He is simply too slow to be out there. On defense running back everyone runs by him. If the play isn't over by the time he gets on defense, he just stands at the top of the key. And when the US goes on the attack everyone runs past him and the attack is over by the time he crosses half field. The US are playing 10 vs 11 with Bradley on the field. He should never see the field in a US national game again.
It's worth noting that Bradley hasn't even been that good in MLS this year.

We are definitely missing the bite, field coverage, and intensity that an Adams/McKennie midfield brings.
 

Titans Bastard

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Great run by Acosta to be able to get on the end of that deflected cross, and a nice finish too.
 

Kliq

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What a great start to the half! Excellent pass by Weah, great run and one-touch by Wood.
 

Titans Bastard

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Colombia was eventually going to get a goal on one of their many get-in-behind-and-hit-a-dangerous-cutback-pass moments.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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I still like Robinson, but boy is he not ready to defend world class wingers yet.
He excels in the "attacking" part of "attacking left back"; the "left back" part is a problem.

The attitude is there, the physical skills are there. He is capable of winning the ball. He needs a lot of work in his positional awareness and recognizing his responsibility.

Everton have him on loan to Bolton in the Championship. He's doing well but the wingers there aren't the best. I'm not sure that he will develop playing against them.
 

Titans Bastard

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In an ideal world, we just need Robinson to keep the seat warm for a couple of years until George Bello is ready, anyway.
 

Titans Bastard

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That Delgado for Weah substitution was a real Sarachan Bummer.
CLASSIC old-school US managerial move.

"Let's change what's working by making a defensive sub that destroys the lineup balance that was actually allowing us to have success!"
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Well, nice story aside, the MLS/USL journeyman LB really put my Robinson bitching into perspective there. Eeeeesh.
 

Titans Bastard

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Great moment for Sargent there. Quick turn and a ruthless drive forward. No hesitation.
 

Titans Bastard

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Turns out this US team isn't as good as Colombia.

Please let's just get Pulisic back on the field. Everyone will be better when he's there.

PS - not that it's been in doubt for a while, but it seems certain now that the manager will be Berhalter. The connected media types are speaking about it as though it's a done deal, and an insider-y guy on BigSoccer claims that Berhalter has already been offered and accepted the offer.

Wahl mentioned on air tonight that there's bad blood between Jesse Marsch and USSF CEO Dan Flynn that stems from when Bob Bradley was fired (Marsch was an assistant at the time). That's interesting and explains why Marsch hasn't been angling for the job.
 

ninjacornelius

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As a recent Columbus Crew enthusiast (living in Austin, I've become quite interested in their fortunes; sorry, Ohio), I must say that I wouldn't hate Berhalter. Would I have preferred Osorio? Yeah, of course. But Berhalter reminds me a bit of Everton-era David Moyes -- given a middling squad and a cash-strapped club, he's made the most of it this year. On paper, Columbus shouldn't even sniff a playoff spot: one of the lowest payrolls in the league, no legit attacking threats, and the cloud of relocation hanging over them. They don't create a lot of shots and don't score many off of the shots that they take (second-fewest goals in the league, last I checked), but they possess the ball well and the midfield is full of very accurate passers. And what I saw tonight makes me think that this kind of strategy could work with the young talent of the USMNT. I see a spine that could have some real mettle, with a possession-style system that could hopefully take some pressure off of what is currently a shaky back line. Given 3/4 of a cycle with McKennie, Acosta, Adams, Pulisic, Weah, and Canouse (please?), I could see him really building something.
 

DJnVa

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In an ideal world, we just need Robinson to keep the seat warm for a couple of years until George Bello is ready, anyway.
Bello could play for Nigeria too right? I haven't read enough to know if he's said he's USMNT.
 

Titans Bastard

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Bello could play for Nigeria too right? I haven't read enough to know if he's said he's USMNT.
Yes, he's a dual citizen, but he's playing for the US U17s right now. I haven't seen any reason to think there's an actual tug-of-war going on.
 

McBride11

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I'm fine with Bradley in camp and even on the bench. Gives some veteran leadership / experience to the young guys. That 20x spot likely isn't going to be a top contributor currently. But his time has passed on the field. His best skill, his motor and being able to run non stop (yes he had some good vision as well) is gone. He will not be around in 2022. Get the young kids on the field against strong international competition.
 

Titans Bastard

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Steffen has left camp due to hamstring tightness, making it highly likely that Guzan will start against Peru.

 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Who’s the next guy? Horvath, right? Why not bloody him a bit? The best thing that can have pen in these games is to give these guys experience and give the brain trust (such as it is) something to evaluate them by. Why wheel the corpse of Guzan out?
 

Titans Bastard

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Who’s the next guy? Horvath, right? Why not bloody him a bit? The best thing that can have pen in these games is to give these guys experience and give the brain trust (such as it is) something to evaluate them by. Why wheel the corpse of Guzan out?
Guzan is 34, not quite corpse-like for a GK just yet.

Normally I'd definitely want the younger GK to start here, but Horvath really hasn't earned it, IMO. He lost his starting job at Club Brugge last season and hasn't regained it. Some of that might be due to a managerial change that hasn't helped him out, but he's been shaky in Belgium and for the US (remember that howler against Portugal?).

Also, I'd like to see some squad rotation for Peru, including Reggie Cannon at RB and at least one of CCV/Long at center back. If we're going to do that, it's not a bad idea to have a GK who is experienced in organizing a backline and who doesn't exude jitters like Horvath has in the past.

I wouldn't complain if Horvath starts, but I expect Sarachan to give Guzan the nod and I think that's defensible too.


EDIT: The reality is that of the early-20s GKs out there — Steffen, Horvath, Bono, Gonzalez — Steffen is the only one who is remotely trustworthy at the NT level right now.
 

Titans Bastard

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I came away from the Colombia game very negative on Antonee Robinson. I don't think there's any way to argue that he didn't have a poor game, but I was listening to the Scuffed podcast* and the guys were honing in on the very weak defensive support Robinson received from Kenny Saief.

One of the Scuffed guys did an interesting analysis via gifs in this thread:


*Scuffed is pretty lo-fi and has no bells and whistles, but it gets deeper in the weeds tactically than what is found in the mainstream US soccer media, which is long on story-writers and short on analysts. I recommend it.
 

Titans Bastard

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Big changes for the Peru game tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing Sargent, Weah, Amon, and Cannon in particular. There isn't much experience here, so it could turn out to be a very disjointed performance, but I'm glad all these guys are getting a run out.


 

Kliq

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I just really want to see the Weah/Pulisic/Sargent/McKinnie group together.
 

Titans Bastard

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What possible benefit is there to trotting the corpse of Guzan out there at this point?
Long and Cannon are making debuts, Sweat has one cap and isn't very good, and CCV is 20 and inexperienced.

Horvath is having a crisis of confidence and in his last cap was clearly nervous and projected jitters everywhere. It's not a bad idea to have a few controls while you experiment elsewhere.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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I’ve always thought that the fans who have angry hate-boners for whichever MLS players are in the team are being odd and non-productive, but Ben Sweat is really testing my position there.
 

Kliq

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That Amon/Sargent/Weah combo that gave Weah a good chance was great.
 

Titans Bastard

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Sargent! Someone check on TB!
I'm a huge fan. I'm glad he got the goal, but it's his combination play that has stood out the most. He just doesn't have any real weaknesses that I can see and now it's just a matter of him getting experience and being able to be more influential on any given game.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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I’m pretty intrigued with this Weah/Sargent/Amon front three.

Can’t even finish the post without it being ruined, I guess.
 

Titans Bastard

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I’m pretty intrigued with this Weah/Sargent/Amon front three.

Can’t even finish the post without it being ruined, I guess.
Throw in Pulisic, McKennie, and Adams and you have one hell of an Olympic front six.